BA failure at Heathrow causes severe delays

Dozens of British Airways flights were halted at Heathrow yesterday due to an IT system failure. The systems went down yesterday afternoon and continued to disrupt journeys into the early hours of the morning.

It is believed there was an issue with BA’s computer systems controlling both online and airport check-ins. Passengers were advised to arrange overnight accommodation or seek alternative travel arrangements to reach their destination whilst BA resolved the matter.

This is not the first time BA systems have failed, back in May 2017 the airline was forced to cancel 726 flights over 3 days leaving 75,000 passengers stranded and costing the company around £100million.

On top of yesterday’s computer failure, flights from Heathrow were also delayed following a fire alert with some flights being diverted to other airports to land. Further delays in Europe also caused a back log of flights arriving into Heathrow causing more delays and cancellations for passengers.

So what can you expect from your travel insurance cover? In the event that your flight is cancelled or delayed, check your policy wording to see what cover is available under your travel insurance. Generally speaking, most travel insurers will offer a small amount of compensation for each set block of time you are delayed for food and refreshments (usually £20.00 for every 12 hours but some will over up to £100 for every six hours). In addition, if your flight is delayed for 24 hours or more your travel insurance may cover you to cancel the holiday if you decide you no longer wish to go, some travel insurers will offer this cover after 12 hours. More information on Departure Delay here.

British Airways are working to resolve the matter and it’s believed the cost for this system failure is rising to above £80million. If you are currently affected by these delays and need advice, tweet us <@TravelInsEx> using the hashtag #BADelay, or email us here.